Passive Causative: The Ultimate Guide to Empowering Your Writing

Passive causative is a grammatical construction that allows you to describe actions that are performed by an agent but not directly by the subject of the sentence. It is commonly used in academic writing, technical reports, and other formal contexts.

Benefits of Using Passive Causative

Using passive causative can provide several benefits, including:

Clarity: It can make your writing more precise and concise, as it eliminates the need to use ambiguous or impersonal pronouns.

Objectivity: Passive voice can help to remove the subjective perspective of the writer, making the writing appear more objective.

Emphasis: It can be used to emphasize the action or the result of the action, rather than the agent responsible.

How to Use Passive Causative

To use passive causative, simply follow these steps:

Identify the agent of the action (the person or thing that performs the action).

Use the appropriate form of the verb "to have" (has, have, had) followed by the past participle of the main verb.

Place the object of the action (the person or thing that receives the action) after the past participle.

Example of Passive Causative

Active voice: The teacher corrected the students' essays.

Passive causative: The students' essays were corrected by the teacher.

Success Stories of Passive Causative

Many businesses have successfully used passive causative to enhance their writing:

A technology company: Used passive causative to clearly describe the technical processes involved in their products.

A marketing agency: Used passive causative to present market research findings in an objective and unbiased manner.

A legal firm: Used passive causative to convey complex legal concepts with precision and clarity.

Tips and Tricks for Effective Passive Causative

Use passive causative sparingly, as overuse can make your writing sound impersonal or robotic.

Avoid ambiguous language, such as using "they" or "one" as the agent.

Place the agent at the end of the sentence to emphasize the action or the result.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Using passive causative incorrectly can lead to confusion or ambiguity.

Avoid using passive causative when the agent is unknown or unimportant.

Don't use passive causative to avoid taking responsibility for your writing.

Tables

Feature	Description
Clarity	Eliminates ambiguous or impersonal pronouns, making writing precise and concise.
Objectivity	Removes subjective perspective, making writing appear more impartial.
Emphasis	Allows for highlighting the action or result, rather than the agent.

Step	Description
Identify agent	Determine who or what performs the action.
Use "to have" and past participle	Use appropriate form of "to have" followed by past participle of main verb.
Place object	Position object after past participle.

Passive Causative: The Ultimate Guide to Empowering Your Writing